Britain aims to boast the first fleet of unmanned jet fighters

By Dominic Nicholls

Farnborough: Britain aims to be the first nation in the world to have a fleet of unmanned fighter jets, as the Tempest is unveiled.

Gavin Williamson, the Defence Secretary, said the Ministry of Defence would invest £2 billion ($3.57 million) by 2025 to deliver the new plane, which will be in service by 2035.

A model of a Tempest, UK's new fighter jet, sits on display on the opening day of the Farnborough International Airshow.Credit:Bloomberg

The ability for some aircraft to fly on missions unmanned will significantly reduce the risk to pilots. Tempest will be able to operate against the highest threats whilst minimising the chances of losing aircrew.

Announcing the publication of the new Combat Air Strategy at the Farnborough International Airshow, Williamson said the funding of the new project would be split equally between the Government and industry.

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The Tempest fighter jet will be "optionally manned" but will be able to be flown without a pilot in the aircraft. Future Laser Directed Energy Weapons will also be incorporated.

Tempest is designed to replace the Typhoon and will operate alongside the new F-35.

Williamson said the MoD would "deliver a business case by the end of the year, and would have initial conclusions on international partners by next summer".

Gavin Williamson, UK defence secretary, stands at a lectern as a full-size model of a Tempest, UK's new fighter jet, is unveiled on the opening day of the Farnborough International Airshow 2018.Credit:Bloomberg

He said: "Final investment decisions [will be] made by 2025. The aim is then for a next generation platform to have operational capability by 2035. Today's news leaves industry, our military, the country, and our allies in no doubt that the UK will be flying high in the combat air sector as we move into the next generation.

"A strong national Combat Air sector gives the UK the military capability we need to defend the country... and choice in how we provide that capability without relying on others."

The £2 billion is not new money, but was in the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review, an MoD spokesman said. It is not known how much money industry has so far committed.

A defence spokesman said that partnerships with industry was a reality of today's defence market. "We look for any partners and are keen to partner in Europe," he said.

The MoD refused to say whether Tempest would be part of the joint project between France and Germany for a future fighter plane, announced earlier this year at the Berlin Air Show.

The aircraft will be designed to operate as part of a "swarm" of manned and unmanned fighters. One pilot could act as the leader of a group of weapon-carrying but unmanned planes to overwhelm enemy defences.

Paul Smith, a former RAF Typhoon pilot who is a BAE Systems test pilot, said: "No matter how smart the enemy air defence system is, if there are too many targets in a swarm it cannot cope."

The laser weapon system will in effect offer unlimited ammunition to the Tempest. It is realistic to expect such a capability by 2035, Mr Smith said.